Dozens of independent merchants who operate 164 Rona stores across Canada have written to the head of Lowe's Companies, saying they are opposed to the U.S. retail giant's $1.76billion takeover bid for the Quebec-based home improvement retailer.
The letter, made public Wednesday, says the independents prefer Rona's approach of combining a network of independents with more than 200 corporate stores.
"We want to reinforce your view that it may not be a good idea for you to buy Rona after you appeared to state your doubts about the deal on Monday," the letter says. "We respectfully say 'No, thank you' as we feel that Lowe's business model is incompatible with the one with which we have individually chosen to engage."
Lowe's approached Canada's largest home improvement company with an informal offer of $14.50 per share, but it faces opposition from both Montreal-area Rona and the Quebec provincial government, currently campaigning toward a Sept. 4 vote.
The chief executive of Lowe's, Robert Niblock, told analysts Monday a deal wasn't "imminent" and Lowe's was still evaluating its options after a 10 per cent drop in secondquarter net income.
The independent retailers want things to stay the same. "We have chosen to belong to a structure that enables us to place our trust in hundreds of local Canadian suppliers we know by their names, that invests heavily in professional development and that has ethics and the local community at its core," they said. "We know what our customers want and believe that the Rona product offering reflects that as well as local values across the country."
